1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03' SRT-10

Bob Pommer

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1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Hi,

This is my first post on this forum. I just traded in my 550 Maranello for a new 03 SRT-10. I have racked up 200 miles on the new beast. I thought I would share my initial driving impressions.

The 550 is an amazing car. It is like a leather couch with a hemi... There is not one inch of the interior that does not have "fine corinthian leather" Even the dash and the headliner are covered in it. It is very comfortable, extremely fast and very capable. 0-60: 4.2 0-100: 9.5, 1/4: 12.4 @119 top end:199 60-0:114ft. .95 on the skid.

At the track: (Yes I took it frequently to the track) It felt heavy around the track because it WAS HEAVY 3800lbs... Handling was nuetral with larger bias towards understeer. (I went through 2 sets of front tires before I went through my rears.) The biggest complaint I had were the brakes. (You felt every ounce of the weight when you tried to put the binders on) The pedal travel was far too much making it very difficult to heal toe. The brake pedal travel would actually go past the accelerator when pushed hard. Even though they stats indicate that is is one of the best stopping cars around it did not inspire confidence. The engine was like butter. 7800 RPM Redline. Sounded crappy at low revs, sounded like only a ferrari does at higher revs.. Overall it was an amazing ride. Fast as hell but definitely biased towards "comfy". Not a great track car, more of a kick [******] cruiser.

SRT-10: This car is all about being rude crude and full of attitude. It is loud, it is manly, it feels as close to a race car as you will find on the street. The steering is lightning quick. The steamroller tires follow every rut in the road so much so that if you do not have REALLY firm grip on the wheel with BOTH hands, it can actually try to dart you off the road or into a different lane. (NO Kidding) (I have felt it mostly at speeds of 30-45mph. Never felt that on the highway.) I had the same problem with the 550M until I added about -.3 negative camber in the front suspension. It fixed that problem bigtime. I have not yet tried it in the Viper, however, when I do, I will report the results. The brakes are AWESOME. The feel is even better. The pedals are very much like a 911 turbo. There is almost no travel in the pedal, the harder you push the faster you stop. Take up is immediate! Heal toeing is excellent. Throttle is very progressive. NOT linear like in the 550. The 1st 50% of the pedal travel yeilds like 30% of the "giddy-up", the second 50% is 70% of the throttle progressivly getting stronger at the end. This takes some time getting used to, but I given the huge torque and no traction control, this will allow you to "feather" the throttle in a corner more effectively without swapping front from rear.

All and all, the major differnce is not so much in the performance (it is better), it is more in the driving experience. The Viper is all about sensation, and it is truely awesome.

That is all I can tell after 200 miles of sub 4000rpms. (well... maybe once or twice above that.......).

Look forward to seeing fellow Viper owners in the Chicagoland area on the track for some fun, ruining expensive rubber and brakepads....
:D
 

Daffy Duck Viper

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Hey there, Bob Pommer.
Welcome to the Viper forum. What a fun first post. Quite a different comparison. Really neat to hear the differences between the Viper SRT-10 and a 550 Maranello Ferrari. Can't wait to hear more. Keep us updated. Happy tire burning.
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NDW

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Thanks for sharing your viewpoint. It is an interesting read from someone who obviously has experience to back up the comparison.
 

Tom Shapiro

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Hi Bob. Great writeup on the SRT. If you're interested, the Illinois VCA's performance driving season is starting up in a few weeks. Check out our website. www.illinoisvipers.com The events page has a complete list of all club activties. I don't have you listed yet on the Illinois membership list so either give me a call or e-mail me your address and I'll send you a performance driving application. Welcome aboard!

Tom Shapiro
Illinois VCA
Performance Driving Director
W-800-288-4389 [email protected]
H-815-469-1746
 

J DAWG

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

I really like the "leather couch with a hemi" analogy.

Will be curious to know what you term the Viper after experiencing it for a while.

Welcome.
 

Casey

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Congrats on your new Snake! :usa:
Great post also! Hope to see you around Chicago this summer!
Call Tom and get set up with the VCA, he can give you all the info you can handle about events around the area!
enjoy
 

Paolo Castellano

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Bob, Congratulations on your Viper purchase! I have recently converted a 2002 Porsche AWD TT owner and a potential Porsche turbo buyer to the Viper! One bought an SRT-10 and one bought a 1998 GTS. They cannot believe the brute power the Viper has and how fun it is to drive. It sounds like you have some good road racing experience which will help tremendously in learning how to drive a car with so much torque. I hope you hook up with the Illinois Viper Club, they have a lot of events where you can hone your skills autocrossing, road racing, dragstrip/etc... Good luck and I'll probably see you around.
 

Paolo Castellano

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Congrats on your new Snake! :usa:
Great post also! Hope to see you around Chicago this summer!
Call Tom and get set up with the VCA, he can give you all the info you can handle about events around the area!
enjoy

Casey, I am glad to see another car being supercharged by Jason Heffner! I should be getting my car back in the next little bit. I'll probably see you around this summer!
 

Casey

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Paolo, I am sure we can hook up this summer. I'll be home from Spain and picking up my car from Heffner's in 5-6 weeks!
Waiting is not easy! But it's times like these that I really appreciate the long winters around Chicago, makes it a little easier to wait, knowing my GTS would be sitting in the garage hiding from the snow/ice anyways!! :D
 

RedSnakeGTS

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Congrats on your new Snake! :usa:
Great post also! Hope to see you around Chicago this summer!
Call Tom and get set up with the VCA, he can give you all the info you can handle about events around the area!
enjoy

Casey, I am glad to see another car being supercharged by Jason Heffner! I should be getting my car back in the next little bit. I'll probably see you around this summer!

my car is currently there as well!
 

Viperrick

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

Bob,

Luckily for you live in the epicenter of Viper Club road racing. They have the oldest and most experienced VCA Regional club in the country. Check out their web site for all the latest news. Since you are a Ferrari convert maybe we will get you to work on Barbara and Marshall so they trade up from their stable of stallions. Ooops I just remembered that Marshall has a Comp Coupe on order. I guess he will officially become a VCA National member once it is delivered.
 

Jim Z

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

The steamroller tires follow every rut in the road so much so that if you do not have REALLY firm grip on the wheel with BOTH hands, it can actually try to dart you off the road or into a different lane. (NO Kidding)

I can vouch for that. The C1 I drove for a week was so hard to control on our rutted asphalt freeways, I was white-knuckling it most of the time.
 

Steel00GTS

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

I bet your Ferrari buddies aren't gonna let you hear the end of this, even after you smoke them in every way with your new VIPER :usa: :usa: :usa:
 

treynor

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Re: 1st Post... 550 Marnanello Vs. 03\' SRT-10

> I really like the "leather couch with a hemi" analogy

Heh. I wonder what that makes my S600 -- a "leather massage chair with a turbine"?

At any rate, must agree with Bob's assessment. The SRT is closer to an open-wheel race car than anything I've ever driven on the street. Even the Gen-II Viper feels soft on the brakes and slightly loosely suspended compared to the Gen-III.

I look forward to hearing further drive and track reports!
 
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